{"id":92345,"date":"2017-05-04T19:30:14","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T17:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/tunisian-week-a-stronger-eu-tunisia-partnership\/"},"modified":"2017-05-04T19:30:14","modified_gmt":"2017-05-04T17:30:14","slug":"tunisian-week-a-stronger-eu-tunisia-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/tunisian-week-a-stronger-eu-tunisia-partnership\/","title":{"rendered":"Tunisian week: a stronger EU &#8211; Tunisia partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>APO News from Africa:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/press\/tunisian-week-a-stronger-eu-tunisia-partnership?lang=en\">Tunisian week: a stronger EU &#8211; Tunisia partnership<\/a>: <\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Cooperation between our two parliaments has emerged stronger from this Tunisian week&#8221;, said European Parliament Vice-President David-Maria Sassoli as the event closed on Thursday. &#8220;We must now give concrete form to the shared experiences and good practices, to benefit all our citizens&#8221;, he added.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>From 2 to 4 May, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and their counterparts from the Assembly of Representatives of the People (ARP) shared their experiences of parliamentary, legislative and representative good practices. In various workshops, they debated, in particular:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>intensively and constructively, the role of political groups in a parliament&nbsp;(watch workshop I),<\/li>\n<li>the need to involve parliaments in all trade negotiations, well upstream, and before it is concluded, to prepare the EU-Tunisia Free Trade Agreement (watch workshop II on the FTA),<\/li>\n<li>the need to strengthen ARP-EP links to tackle corruption and the financing of terrorist networks (watch workshop III on fighting money laundering),<\/li>\n<li>the need to promote a culture of gender equality in order to transform legal provisions into social reality and establish a women&rsquo;s committee within the ARP (watch round table on gender equality and women&rsquo;s participation in public life),<\/li>\n<li>the expectations of Tunisia&rsquo;s young people to be able to study, be trained and work in line with the laws in force in (watch workshop IV on the links between Parliament and civil society, and<\/li>\n<li>substantial support from the EU to Tunisia, with a conditionality policy tied to the implementation of reforms (watch debate on current and future EU-Tunisia relations).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>ARP President Mohammed Ennaceur said &#8220;Stepping up European aid to the new Tunisia will be crucially important and will be a big help in laying the foundations of a real and effective strategic partnership that matches the challenges that Tunisia faces&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You can count on our support; we are in favour of stepping up European Union assistance under the various partnership instruments. It is important not only to consolidate economic growth, but also to ensure that it is sustainable&#8221;, said European Parliament President Antonio Tajani at the 2 May opening of the Tunisian week at the European Parliament.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>Distributed by APO on behalf of European Parliament.<\/i><\/p>\n<div class=\"well well-sm\"><b>Media files<\/b><br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/files\/thumb\/63303d64089f639\/200\/70\" alt=\"European Parliament\"\/><br \/>Download logo<\/div>\n<p><small><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/press\/tunisian-week-a-stronger-eu-tunisia-partnership?lang=en\">APO &#8211; Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa<\/a><\/small><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ge.africa-newsroom.com\/press\/ge-to-supply-power-generation-technology-for-ghanas-400-mw-bridge-power-project?lang=en\">GE to supply power generation technology for Ghana\u2019s 400 MW Bridge Power project<\/a>: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>400 megawatt (MW) greenfield project will be Africa&rsquo;s first liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fired power plant and world&rsquo;s largest plant of its kind<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Project will provide enough electricity for the equivalent of up to 17 percent of Ghana&rsquo;s capacity and address the long-term energy requirements of the country<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Fuel-flexible plant can run on LPG, natural gas and diesel<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n<p>GE (NYSE: GE) (www.GE.com) announced today that it will supply the power generation equipment for the Bridge Power plant project in Tema, Ghana. The equipment, which will be used in the first phase of the project, will collectively generate 200 MW of power. An additional 200 MW of power will be deployed in stage two of the project.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>The equipment scope includes GE&rsquo;s TM2500 gas turbine generator sets (http:\/\/APO.af\/NLoyzW) and GE&rsquo;s steam turbines in a combined cycle (CC) configuration. This will be the first time the TM2500 gas turbines will be used in a combined cycle configuration globally and marks a milestone for the technology, which was also selected this week for Angola&rsquo;s ambitious electrification program (http:\/\/APO.af\/n16rSu) led by PRODEL.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Bridge Power plant successfully brings together the need for a cost-effective fuel solution, in this case liquefied petroleum gas, with an integrated power solution driven by GE&rsquo;s latest flexible technology&rdquo; said Leslie Nelson, CEO, GE&rsquo;s Gas Power Systems for Sub Saharan Africa.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>The 400 megawatt (MW) Bridge Power and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) import, storage, and transportation infrastructure project will address Ghana&rsquo;s long-term energy requirements by providing enough electricity for the equivalent of up to 17 percent of the country&rsquo;s capacity. Upon completion, it will be Africa&rsquo;s first LPG fired power plant and the world&rsquo;s largest plant of its kind. The fuel-flexible plant will also be capable of being fueled by LPG, natural gas or diesel.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Bridge Power is being developed by the Early Power Limited (&ldquo;EPL&rdquo;) consortium under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Electricity Corporation of Ghana (ECG).&nbsp;The EPL consortium comprises of Endeavor Energy, a leading independent power development and generation company focused on Africa; Sage, a leading independent trading firm in Ghana; and GE (General Electric).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>The Bridge power plant project will bring much needed electricity to Ghana and is expected to have an immediate positive impact on the reliable operation of schools, factories, offices, other local businesses, hospitals, and households. The project is another example of how GE works with the government, corporate customers and other stakeholders in Ghana. Together, GE and its customers in Ghana support economic growth through infrastructure development in the power, oil &#038; gas and healthcare sectors. In March this year, GE opened a 5,600 square meter oil &#038; gas facility in Takoradi, that will serve as a primary service center for deep-water offshore projects.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>Distributed by APO on behalf of GE.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><strong>For more information, please contact:<\/strong><br \/> Anne Ezeh<br \/> Communications Manager, GE Africa<br \/> +234 7031779857<br \/> Anne.Ezeh@GE.com<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Millas&nbsp;<br \/> Communications Manager, GE Power<br \/> +1 910 515 7873<br \/> Thomas.Millas@GE.com<\/p>\n<p><strong>About GE:<\/strong><br \/> GE (NYSE: GE) (www.GE.com) is the world&#39;s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the &#8220;GE Store,&#8221; through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>About GE Power:<\/strong><br \/> GE Power is a world leader in power generation with deep domain expertise to help customers deliver electricity from a wide spectrum of fuel sources. We are transforming the electricity industry with the digital power plant, the world&rsquo;s largest and most efficient gas turbine, full balance of plant, upgrade and service solutions as well as our data-leveraging software. Our innovative technologies and digital offerings help make power more affordable, reliable, accessible and sustainable.<\/p>\n<div class=\"well well-sm\"><b>Media files<\/b><br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/files\/thumb\/c405688d0877d81\/200\/70\" alt=\"GE\"\/><br \/>Download logo<\/div>\n<p><small><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ge.africa-newsroom.com\/press\/ge-to-supply-power-generation-technology-for-ghanas-400-mw-bridge-power-project?lang=en\">APO &#8211; Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa<\/a><\/small><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.greenpeace-africa.africa-newsroom.com\/press\/greenpeace-concludes-months-long-ship-tour-with-strong-recommendations-to-west-african-states?lang=en\">Greenpeace concludes months long ship tour with strong recommendations to West African states<\/a>: <\/p>\n<p>11 arrests of vessels fishing illegally have occurred in just three weeks of joint surveillance with local authorities in West African waters. This is out of 13 fishing regulation infractions identified during the two month &lsquo;Hope in West Africa&rsquo; ship tour, which also included fisheries monitoring and civil society and political engagement in a total of six countries. The results of Greenpeace&rsquo;s (www.Greenpeace.org\/Africa\/en) ship tour, which ends this weekend in Dakar have been compiled in a preliminary report released today. The findings are symptomatic of West African fisheries&rsquo; desperate need for effective regulations at a regional level.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>In total, Greenpeace and inspectors from Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone and Senegal boarded and inspected 37 industrial fishing vessels in the region. In Mauritania Greenpeace conducted its own monitoring and presented the findings to the Minister of Fisheries, Mr. Nani Chrougha. The 13 infractions included shark finning, incorrect net mesh sizes, transshipment at sea, lack of documentation and fishing outside of permits.[1] The infractions were committed by fishing vessels with Chinese, Italian, Korean, Comoros and Senegalese flags.<\/p>\n<p>Pavel Klinckhamers, Hope in West Africa project leader, said:<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;After two months at sea documenting and inspecting industrial fishing vessels in the waters of West Africa, it is clear that illegal fishing is worryingly common. We also found an eagerness among local fishermen, civil society and governments across the region to address the situation and move towards a sustainable fisheries system. The next step is for these stakeholders to show real commitment in working together towards that goal. We look forward to supporting that process.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Without decision making powers current managing bodies for the seas, from Cabo Verde to Sierra Leone, including the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC) and the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF), can only perform insufficient advisory roles. A lack of transparency on fisheries policies and practices also blights the region. Fisheries authorities&rsquo; vessel lists are often incomplete or inaccurate, and the numbers and details of joint venture companies and fisheries access agreements in the region remains opaque.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Ahmed Diame, Greenpeace Africa Oceans campaigner, said:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;With West African fish stocks already in freefall, governments must act right now to ensure food security is no longer threatened by overfishing and illegal fishing. Fish stocks are not restricted to national boundaries, and that is why the solutions to end the overfishing of West Africa&rsquo;s waters can only come from joint efforts between the countries of this region. Governments must work together to set up and implement an effective regional fisheries management system to safeguard these precious resources now and for generations to come.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>In the latest round of joint surveillance, in Senegal, from 25 to 29 April, Greenpeace and inspectors from the Office of Fisheries Protection and Surveillance (DPSP) identified two cases of illegal fishing. The <em>Marcantonio Bragadin<\/em>, owned by a Senegalese-Italian joint venture, and <em>Kanbal III<\/em>, owned by a Senegalese-Spanish joint venture, were both caught using methods to constrict the mesh size of their nets, effectively making the net mesh smaller than the permitted size. The <em>Marcantonio Bragadin<\/em> reportedly paid a deposit of West African CFA 30 million (&euro; 45,700) one day later in order to continue fishing. The <em>Kanbal III<\/em> will be further investigated by the DPSP.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Greenpeace is handing its report to government representatives from Cape Verde, Mauritania, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Senegal with strong recommendations as to how West African governments can live up to their responsibility and jointly manage both foreign and local fishing activities in order to safeguard their waters and ensure a fair and sustainable distribution of resources at sea. In the coming months, Greenpeace will also share its findings concerning the poor working conditions on board many foreign fishing vessels, where drinking water is often in scarce supply and many local crew are left to sleep, eat and wash outside.<\/p>\n<p>Greenpeace is advising that an effective regional fisheries management body be established and national fisheries policies harmonised. Transparency, including bilateral fisheries agreements, the sharing of resources to optimise Vessel Monitoring Systems for tracking fishing vessels, and the setting up of a black list of IUU vessels and non-cooperating captains in the region must be adopted by all countries. There is an urgent need to establish a committee to monitor stock assessment and catches to bring fisheries capacity in balance with available resources. In addition, the voices of local fishing communities, those hit hardest by industrial fishing in the region, must be made central to the planning and implementation of fisheries management. With West African fish stocks plummeting, the need for such a system is urgent.<\/p>\n<p> <i>Distributed by APO on behalf of Greenpeace.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><strong>Notes to Editor:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[1]<strong> <\/strong>The Esperanza has been on a two month long expedition in West Africa to document the threat from overfishing to the marine environment and food security for millions of Africans depending on fish. The crew on board, with the support of fishing authorities from coastal countries in the West Africa, aim to reduce the number of vessels fishing illegally or committing different offense.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Contacts:<\/strong><br \/> \u25cf Contact onboard the Esperanza: Pavel Klinckhamers, project leader, Greenpeace Netherlands,&nbsp;PKlinckh@Greenpeace.org, +31 107130874<br \/> \u25cf International media enquiries: Christina Koll, communications coordinator, Greenpeace Nordic,&nbsp;CKoll@Greenpeace.org, +45 28109021<br \/> \u25cf African media enquiries: Bakary Coulibaly, communications officer, Greenpeace Africa, Senegal office,&nbsp;BKouliba@Greenpeace.org, +221 773336265<br \/> \u25cf Chinese media enquiries: Tengfei Xu, communications officer, Greenpeace East Asia Beijing Office,&nbsp;Xu.Tengfei@Greenpeace.org, +86 18601277872<\/p>\n<p>Photos and video footage&nbsp;available here&nbsp;(http:\/\/act.gp\/2miRN9f).&nbsp;<br \/> Please also find&nbsp;Greenpeace briefing here&nbsp;(http:\/\/APO.af\/ZMkvey).&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"well well-sm\"><b>Media files<\/b><br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/files\/thumb\/4d0b477c4fee7a1\/200\/70\" alt=\"Greenpeace\"\/><br \/>Download logo<\/p>\n<p><b>Multimedia content<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Image: Joint Fisheries Surveillance in Senegal (1)<\/li>\n<li>Image: Joint Fisheries Surveillance in Senegal (2)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><small><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.greenpeace-africa.africa-newsroom.com\/press\/greenpeace-concludes-months-long-ship-tour-with-strong-recommendations-to-west-african-states?lang=en\">APO &#8211; Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa<\/a><\/small><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>APO News from Africa: Tunisian week: a stronger EU &#8211; Tunisia partnership: &#8220;Cooperation between our two parliaments has emerged stronger from this Tunisian week&#8221;, said European Parliament Vice-President David-Maria Sassoli as the event closed on Thursday. &#8220;We must now give concrete form to the shared experiences and good practices, to benefit all our citizens&#8221;, he [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[2715,5506,19828,19976,2344],"class_list":{"0":"post-92345","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-africa-news-2","7":"tag-partnership","8":"tag-stronger","9":"tag-tunisia","10":"tag-tunisian","11":"tag-week","12":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92345\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}